Kenyan
(East African) Sand Boas

The sand
boas are a group of generally small boids, mostly Asiatic, although some
species are native to Africa and one species even ranges into Europe.
They are related to the rosy and rubber boas of North America, and together
they make up the group called the erycine boas. The East African (also
known an the Kenyan) sand boa is in build a typical sand boa, but colored
orange or yellow with chocolate-brown to black splotches. The belly is
white or cream. In the wild, East African sand boas range through Egypt,
Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Chad, Niger, Yemen, Tanzania, and Somalia.
They eat small rodents and lizards, which they catch by lying in wait
nearly buried in the dirt or sand until a potential meal walks by. They
may also search out rodent nests to dine on the young. Babies may also
eat insects, but this is not thought to be common. They are most active
at night, but I have seen mine prowling in the afternoon as well.

Male sand
boas only reach about 15 to 18 inches in average length and about 70-100
grams in weight, although a very old male may reach as much as 24 inches.
Once they reach adulthood, at about 15 months to 2 years of age depending
on feeding schedules, they frequently eat very little, especially in the
summer breeding season. The females will generally reach about 24-36 inches,
with 28 being typical, and will weigh in the neighborhood of 400-900 +
grams. They are much stockier than the males, who are rather stout snakes
themselves. They can live well into their teens, with the record for a
closely related species being over 30 years.

HANDLINGWhen you dig your sand boa out of its cage you should slide
your hand through the substrate so that you lift the snake from underneath.
In the wild its predators would attack from above, and your pet may be
so scared that it jerks or even snaps if approached from above. If your
sand boa does snap at you it generally won't hang on (unless it thinks
you are food because you smell like a mouse) and will frequently not even
break the skin. Just wash any wound well and watch for infection. I have
been bitten by snakes much larger than sand boas, and a paper cut hurt
worse!

If your
sand boa thinks you are food and bites and hangs on, try waving a bottle
of alcohol (rubbing or drinking) in front of its nose, or spraying a bit
near (not in) its face. I was careless recently and my big (27 inch) adult
female thought my index finger was a mouse. A little spritz of Bitter
Apple, which is alcohol-based, on my hand near her head made her let go
quickly. It barely hurt, and didn?t bleed a drop! Since that incident,
I had a yearling male grab my finger when I put it in front of his face
when he was ?periscoping? because he thought it might be food. I had to
let a little alcohol run down into his mouth before he let go. Still,
it barely left a mark on my finger.

You should
never squeeze your sand boa, but let it crawl from hand to hand, or cradle
it in both hands. The larger females need a lot of support, and can be
held cradled in your arms against your body, rather like a baby. If you
try to put them across your shoulders they will probably fall off. They
don?t climb well, and will frequently fall off the edge of surfaces like
tables and laps. They prefer to go downward when possible.

HOUSING
REQUIREMENTSHousing your
sand boa is relatively easy. Males can live their lives in a 10 gallon
aquarium, and for a female a 20 gallon or better a 20 long is quite sufficient.
If you have the room a larger terrarium can be nicely decorated and give
your sand boas plenty of room. Sand boas can be housed in small groups,
but if you have mixed sexes you should avoid this once they near maturity
unless you want babies. They traditionally breed in the summer, but I
had a pair breed in January and when the female was only 20 inches and
200 grams. I got a small litter of 3 nice babies, but I didn't want to
put that much strain on my young female.

Another
housing possibility is a plastic sweater box. This is cheaper but less
attractive. The lid or the sides near the top should be drilled for ventilation,
or a soldering iron will also melt holes quickly. Care should be taken
that humidity doesn't build up too much. Juveniles will climb in an attempt
to explore (read escape) and can get through very small holes. It is a
good idea to use hot glue to line the inside of the lid of a sweater box
with fiberglass screen to prevent escapes. If you do this you can make
much larger holes for the best ventilation. You should also make sure
to use clamps or large rubber bands so that the snake cannot force the
lid off and escape that way. Binder clips from an office supply store
work well for this.

Recently
I have seen a clear plastic cage marketed as a "Reptile Ranch"
that makes a nice home for a smaller sand boa. It is made of clear plastic
with a tightly-fitted plastic lid with air vents and access doors. They
are inexpensive and attractive, and are about the size of a sweater box.

The substrate
that I use is Carefresh, which is not too attractive, but safe. I used
to use crushed walnut shells, but heard too many reports of snakes ingesting
it and becoming impacted, with fatal results. I have also heard reports
of this happening with sand, so I don't advise that either. While sand
boas is their common name, most sand boas don't live in sandy areas. Shredded
aspen is safe, and like Carefresh it holds the burrows that the sand boas
make. Many people use pine shavings, although others speculate that they
may be toxic because of the volatile chemicals such as turpenes in the
wood. I don?t use pine, and if you choose to use it make sure it doesn't
have a strong smell. Never use cedar shavings, which are definitely toxic
to reptiles.

The cage
needs heat at one end, most economically supplied from beneath. Heating
pads made for herps are fine, but don't stick them to the bottom of the
tank, it makes them impossible to remove. They can be regulated with a
rheostat (dimmer) either made for herp heating or from the hardware store.
I frequently use a human heating pad, which can be bought at a drugstore
for under $15. If you are using an aquarium use something like small wooden
blocks to lift the tank so that it doesn't rest directly on the heating
pad, and there should be one end of the cage that is unheated. You also
need a thermometer - one from a pet shop should cost about $5 and will
do the job. Place the thermometer in the substrate over the heating pad.
It should be between 90 and 95 degrees F over the hottest part of the
heating pad. Human heating pads usually have a hotter spot that is a lump
in the pad; check the temperature directly over that. If it gets too hot
even on low (and heating pads vary greatly) either raise the tank more
or place newspapers between the pad and the tank to regulate the heat.
The higher the cage is raised above the heating pad the greater the temperature
fluctuation as the room temperature changes. The other end of the cage
should be approximately room temperature, in the 70s. If the snake spends
all the time on the cool end you might want to lower the temperature a
bit, but they should have a place to go that reaches 90F in the daytime.
If they don't have a place to get warm they can get respiratory infections
and digestive disturbances. The warm-end temperature can drop into the
80s to the high 70s at night as long as it reaches 90 during the day.

Sand boas
live in primarily arid areas, but in the wild they would seek out humid
microclimates. You should give them this ability by supplying a humidity
box. This will greatly assist them in shedding properly, and many seem
to enjoy it even when not in shed. Mine frequently will stay in the humidity
box for days, and seem very relaxed when checked on. A humidity box is
a plastic box with an access hole cut in the lid, half filled with slightly
damp green sphagnum moss (not the milled brown kind). I get my green moss
in the garden section of a large hardware store. It is much cheaper there
than at a pet store. You could also use damp paper towels. These can be
disposed of frequently, while the moss can be dried out and reused as
long as it is not moldy or soiled. Put the humidity box where it straddles
the end of the heating pad. Check it frequently for mold or droppings.

Sand boas
do drink water, and should have access to fresh drinking water at least
periodically. If you use a screen-topped tank you can keep a small water
dish constantly available on the cool end. If you use a plastic box you
may want to only place a small water dish in with the snake at night 2
or 3 times a week. This is to avoid excess humidity building up where
the snake can't escape it. When I put my sand boas back in their cages
I frequently put their heads over the water dish and am sometimes rewarded
by getting to watch them drink. Some snakes may have trouble finding the
water at first, so this is a good practice to make sure they don't get
dehydrated.

That does
it for the mandatory furniture. You may want to try laying a piece of
plate glass with smooth edges on the substrate and see if your sand boa
will burrow under it and lie where you can see him. They like the feeling
of something over them and don't seem to realize that it is transparent.
They don't need hide boxes since they usually bury themselves in the substrate
or use the humidity box, but they may use a low one at times. A flat piece
of tree bark works well.

You could
also landscape your pet's home if it is large enough with potted succulents
(remove to water), driftwood, a ceramic water dish molded to look like
a rock pool, or other items. You can disguise the humidity box by burying
it and covering the top with a flat piece of bark or a similar object.
Remember that sand boas will move things around as they burrow, and won't
make use of any climbing opportunities, unless it is to escape!

FEEDINGYoung sand
boas will be eating young mice, which you can purchase frozen. The rule
of thumb is to feed a meal which is about as big around as your snake
at mid-body. For sand boas that means that babies get pink mice and adult
males get fuzzies, with a mature female able to eat hoppers or adults.
Some may prefer smaller prey than what you think they may take. You should
never feed in the cage, as ingested substrate can cause death. Sand boas,
being mostly nocturnal, feed best at night. I feed in a cloth snake bag,
which can be placed in the cage for warmth and safety. To thaw a frozen
mouse place it in a cup of hot tap water for 10-20 minutes until it is
thoroughly thawed and warm. My sand boas don't seem to care if their mice
are wet, but you can thaw them in a sealed plastic bag, or skip the water
altogether and wrap them in a heating pad. Microwaving is hard to control,
and an exploded mouse isn't much fun to clean up. Place the warm mouse
in the snake bag, wash your hands so you don't smell like a mouse, add
the sand boa, and leave it undisturbed inside the snake's cage for a couple
of hours. For picky eaters I put a folded towel on top or bury the bag
in the substrate, only leaving a couple of square inches exposed for air
exchange. They seem to like the weight on top of them. If the mouse is
still there when you check you can leave it overnight. Instead of using
a snake bag you can place the mouse and snake in a deli cup, but sand
boas seem to feel more secure with the feeling of the bag over them and
usually eat more readily. If you use a deli cup you might want to put
in a piece of damp paper towel that they can hide under. The pinkies and
fuzzies that young sand boas eat are not old enough to damage your snake
and so can be fed live without harm to the snake, but that is a matter
of personal ethics (and economics - frozen is generally cheaper.) Older
mice can kill a snake if they get lucky (and your snake unlucky.) There
are very few sand boas that will only eat live prey. Sometimes a neonate
will insist on live for the first few feedings, but if given one live
and one pre-killed when they are hungry they will usually switch fairly
easily.

Babies
should be fed every 5-7 days, and adults every week to every month, depending
on the snake and the size of the meals. It is hard to get babies actually
fat, but there is a belief that feeding baby snakes a lot so they grow
fast will shorten their life spans. On the other hand, a hungry snake
may be grouchy and if kept underfed they will always be stunted. Watch
your snake, and adjust the amount and frequency of food as necessary.
Adult females are prone to obesity if overfed. If this happens cut back
a bit - obesity shortens lives for snakes as well as humans. If your sand
boa consistently refuses food it may be stressed from too much handling.
Try leaving it alone more to see if that will bring back its appetite.
You should not handle your snake unnecessarily for 24 hours after eating,
as it may regurgitate. If it does regurgitate, wait a few days before
feeding again, so that the irritation to the esophagus has a chance to
heal.

SHEDDINGYour snake
may refuse a meal because it is in shed. You will know this by the dulling
of the color, and your snake may be more jumpy. If they seem jumpy they
should be handled as little as possible until they have completed their
shed, and if fed should only be offered small meals. This prevents a large
meal from stretching out the delicate new skin and causing injury. Many
snakes will not eat until the shed is complete.

The shed
process usually lasts between one and two weeks. The skin will look dull
for a few days to a week, then it will look almost normal, but a close
look at the belly shows that it looks slightly yellowish instead of white.
A few days after this the snake will shed, frequently in the evening.
If the snake does not shed completely you can place it in a damp cloth
snake bag placed inside its cage for a few hours. This usually does the
trick. If there are a few stubborn spots you can apply a little contact
lens wetting solution, let it soak, then gently peel the skin off.

You should
check the shed skin if possible to see that the eyecaps have shed. If
they are retained for more than a couple of sheds they can damage the
eye. If your snake retains an eyecap you should first try the damp snake
bag. If that doesn't work you can take a piece of scotch tape or masking
tape (not something as sticky as duct tape) and reduce the stickiness
a bit by sticking it to your finger a couple of times, then gently placing
it over the eyecap and lifting, using a rolling motion. If this doesn't
work either wait until the next shed to see if it comes off then, or consult
a herp vet. If the eyecap is only retained for one shed it is very unlikely
to cause problems, but people have blinded their snakes by trying to use
forceps to remove retained eyecaps. If you provide a humidity box there
is every likelihood that your snake will never have a bad shed.

SANITATION
AND HEALTHYour snake
cage will be easy to clean. Sand boas produce their uric acid in a solid
form as a small white lump of urates. Their feces are also dry and not
terribly odorous, unless left in the humidity box for some time. The humidity
box should have fairly frequent cleanings, every week to two weeks if
not soiled. Of course if it is soiled or the moss molds it should be cleaned
immediately! The rest of the cage is easier. I just throw away the lumps
I find in the substrate as I search for my snake, and replace the substrate
and clean the cage about 2-3 times a year. If you use aspen or other substrate
it may need to be replaced more frequently. You can disinfect the cage
and furnishings with a 10% bleach solution or a commercial disinfectant
like Quatricide. All of these must sit on the surface for 10 minutes to
be effective. Make sure to follow directions and rinse thoroughly. Pinesol
has ingredients that are toxic to reptiles, so avoid it and similar products.

Your sand
boa, just by being a reptile, may be harboring a strain of Salmonella.
A few simple precautions in handling your pet will make sure this never
causes any problems. Never let your snake crawl on the kitchen counters,
and use the bathroom for washing the cage and furnishings, disinfecting
all surfaces afterward. Don't kiss your snake, or let it tongue-flick
your lips. Wash your hands well after handling, or use a disinfectant
gel. Disinfect any surface that your snake touches which may touch food,
or that a young child may touch. Infants and people with impaired immune
systems should probably not have contact with any reptiles, but chicken
from the supermarket causes far more cases of Salmonella than do pet reptiles.

If you
get a new snake it should be quarantined for six months, to prevent transmission
of parasites and diseases. Sand boas are normally hardy snakes and seldom
get sick, but symptoms such as excess mucus, gaping to breath, repeated
regurgitation, or anything else out of the ordinary should be investigated
by a herp vet. Remember, if you have any questions ask someone - the only
stupid question is the one not asked!